Cal Crutchlow privately baffled by one Marc Marquez weakness after studying his data before French Grand Prix

Add as preferred source on Google

Marc Marquez has had a dominant start to life at Ducati since moving to the factory team in 2025.

Riding with Gresini on the GP24 last season, the six-time MotoGP champion won three races and scored 10 podiums, finishing third in the standings. Stepping up to Ducati alongside Francesco Bagnaia in 2025, Marquez was tipped as a favourite for the title.

His transition to the GP25 has been rather seamless, with the Spaniard displaying his dominance on the field. Marquez claimed pole position in the opening four rounds and has won eight out of 10 races thus far.

Despite these performances, the 32-year-old does not lead the championship. Two costly crashes in Austin and Jerez have handed the advantage to brother Alex by just one point ahead of the Grand Prix of France.

Marc Marquez crashed out of the race from the lead in Austin, with teammate Bagnaia inheriting the win. At Jerez, he fell while battling the Italian and Fabio Quartararo.

The Spaniard limped home in 12th, with Ramon Forcada criticising Marquez for continuing the race with a damaged bike, labelling it ‘dangerous’. It is clear that the Ducati star has weaknesses in his riding style.

Cal Crutchlow privately ‘can’t believe’ how ‘weak’ Marc Marquez is through fast right-hand corners

Bagnaia says Marquez ‘feels too comfortable’ on the GP25, hence why he is making mistakes. The Italian is struggling to find feeling on the bike, but has kept himself out of the barriers thus far.

Marquez likes to push his machine to the limit, showing great strength through left-hand corners. However, he has not been as powerful through the right turns, with Alex Marquez claiming he is faster than Marc in this area.

Neil Hodgson shared on TNT Sports 2 (10/5, 10:26) a discussion he had had with former Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. The Brit privately expressed his disbelief at how ‘weak’ Marquez was through fast right-handers, looking at his data.

“Talking to Cal Crutchlow this week, when you see Marc’s data, we know he’s really good around the lefts,” said Hodgson.

“He said what you can’t believe is how weak he is on fast right-hand corners. He loses a lot of time on fast right-hand corners.

“But he said he’s also incredibly fast on slow right-hand corners. This track has not got many fast right-hand corners. That’s why this track’s always worked well for Marc.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

Marc Marquez now has Fabio Quartararo to worry about in 2025

Brother Alex and Bagnaia have proven to be Marc Marquez’s closest title rivals in 2025. However, Fabio Quartararo is beginning to cause a headache for the Ducatis on his Yamaha.

The Frenchman claimed a stunning pole position at Jerez, but he could not capitalise as he crashed in the Sprint and was runner-up to Alex Marquez in the Grand Prix. But Quartararo continued his form by securing pole on home soil at Le Mans.

The Marquez brothers will line up on the front row next to him, Marc ahead of Alex. The YZR-M1 has suddenly found performance, putting Quartararo in a position to challenge Ducati for wins.

Quartararo has an advantage over ‘all’ the Ducatis at the French GP, with the hard front Michelin tyre performing better on the Yamaha. It could be Ducati’s ‘Achilles heel’ as the 2021 champion looks to stir things up at the front.